Photos of Edward Snowden,
a contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), and U.S.
President Barack Obama are printed on the front pages of local
English and Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong in this illustration
photo June 11, 2013.REUTERS/Bobby
Yip

Charlie Savage and Mark Mazzetti of The New York Times have
published a story detailing how and why National Security
Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden pulled off what is
being considered as the most significant leak in U.S. history.

The journey,
which apparently began in January, sounds remarkably
complicated.

The source had instructed his media contacts to come to
Hong Kong, visit a particular out-of-the-way corner of a certain
hotel, and ask — loudly — for directions to another part of the
hotel. If all seemed well, the source would walk past holding a
Rubik’s Cube.

At the end of the trail, Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian
told The Times, the 29-year-old Booz Allen employee who was contracted by the
NSAturned over archives of
“thousands” of documents
— “dozens” of which are newsworthy — to documentary
filmmakerLaura Poitras, Guardian
reporter Ewen MacAskill, and himself.

“He is so
convinced that he did the right thing," Mr. Greenwald told
the Times, adding that Snowden is not "delusional ... He
completely understands that more likely than not, he’s going to
end up like Bradley Manning or worse."